108 complaints about council

Two-thirds of complaints about Herts County Council were upheld last year by a national watchdog after investigation, according to new figures.

The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) investigates allegations of maladministration that have caused injustice, and oversees every local authority in England.

Between April 2014 and March 2015 the LGO received 108 complaints, although it only carried out detailed investigations into 16 of them.

Almost half of the complaints - 42 - were ‘closed after initial enquiries’, while another 44 were ‘referred back for local resolution’.

Advice was offered in one case, and five complaints were ruled either incomplete or invalid.

Out of the 16 investigations, 11 were upheld, or 68.8 per cent.

Complaints are also divided by what council roles they refer to.

The most common area as education and children’s services, which was the topic of 59 complaints.

The next most common were adult care services and highways and transport, which were each the subject of 16 complaints.

While the county council is responsible for cash-hungry services such as education, social care and libraries, Gazette readers are also part of Dacorum Borough Council which runs smaller services recycling, housing and council tax collection.

25 complaints were investigated regarding Dacorum, although only five were referred for detailed investigation and just one of these was upheld.

Almost half of these complaints - 12 - were referred back for local resolution.

Eights of the complaints about Daocrum related to benefits and tax, six were about environmental services, public protection and regulation.

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